John McCusker, The Times-PicayuneMayor Mitch Landrieu's administration is vowing to launch a $52 million program to subsidize home buying.

Those would be positive developments for the recovery of several neighborhoods, and city officials need to deliver on their timetable.

More than 400 homes rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina were sold under an original, $27-million soft second-mortgage program launched in 2008 by former Mayor Ray Nagin. That effort was plagued by delays and problems in the disbursement of some funds, but its eventual success led then-Mayor Nagin to pledge another $10 million for the program in 2009.

Mr. Nagin never delivered on that promise. Mayor Mitch Landrieu last year renewed the commitment, but he appropriately stopped the disbursement when a federal audit revealed problems in how the Finance Authority of New Orleans was running the effort.

The new $52-million program would foster first-time home ownership while putting about 700 homes back in commerce -- a substantial figure. City officials said the new program would have two different funds. One fund would offer forgivable mortgages of up to $65,000 based on income, with lower-income recipients being eligible for larger loans than people with higher incomes. The second fund would pay developers as much as $65,000 to defray construction costs, with the subsidized amount depending on the income level of the home's buyer.

For each of the funds, officials said, there will be incentives to rebuild in one of 10 target zones, which will fit into the mayor's overall strategy to eliminate thousands of blighted properties.

The faith-based Jeremiah Group, which pushed the state to dedicate the money for the new program out of the failed Road Home rental recovery program, deserves credit for also pushing the administration to deliver on the idea. Mayor Landrieu must ensure the city avoids the problems raised by the audit of the Nagin era effort by keeping close oversight of the new program.

Potential buyers and communities with vacant or blighted properties have waited long enough for this effort, and the city needs to come through this time.